DETROIT – What blossomed at Honda Center late Wednesday was planted eight months ago in Italy, in a town so far north the Italians actually speak German.

Nick Bonino's hockey season began long before the Ducks' season did. Both are still going.

Bonino spent the lockout playing in Neumarkt, a town with a 1,000-seat rink, a team in Italy's second division. If he was looking for confidence, he found it, with sauerkraut.

"Everyone else on the team had a regular job," Bonino said. "They practiced at 8 at night, for two hours, after work. My best buddy on the team owned an optical shop. Another guy was a roofer. The captain was a carpenter. They were great guys and very welcoming. At the end of the day they were just itching to play somewhere."

One of his teammates, Marian, was even at Game 5, as he and his friends toured California. He and the rest of the house got to see Bonino, at the end of an inventive play by Ben Lovejoy.

Bonino tapped the winning goal past Jimmy Howard and put Anaheim ahead of Detroit, 3-2, in the first round, with a chance to win the series here tonight.

The key word is "chance." The Red Wings welcome back Justin Abdelkader, who was probably their best forward, at least, until he was suspended two games for knocking out Toni Lydman in Game 3. Lydman's headaches have persisted, to the point where he didn't even fly here with the Ducks on Thursday.

Still, the Ducks have the upper hand, and it's interesting how many situations come down to Bonino, the 25-year-old from Hartford who starred at Boston University, was drafted by San Jose and came to Anaheim as the prize of a deal that sent Travis Moen and Kent Huskins north at the '09 trade deadline.

Bonino spent most of last season with the Ducks and had eight points in 50 games. This year he had 13 points in 27 games. He got the head start in Neumarkt, where he scored 26 goals and 52 points in 19 games, against the men in the street.

Still, it wasn't about the competition. It was about sharpness and assertiveness, and it carried over quickly into the truncated season.

Bonino, centering the fourth line for the most part, had a hat trick and a four-point game in an early victory against the Kings. He also won enough faceoffs and played well enough on special teams to get moved up. He is the second-line center in this round, playing mostly with Teemu Selanne and Bobby Ryan.

"It was a different level, but I had a lot of opportunity," Bonino said, speaking of Neumarkt. "I played 20-25 minutes a game. I hadn't had the puck so much since high school."

"We played on bigger ice and I got in real good shape. We'd play every Friday and Sunday. There were only eight teams in the league and the longest trip was 55 minutes."

He smiled at that, thinking of the long-haul trips to Detroit.

"The crowds were great, like soccer fans," he said. "They were singing, finding out what hockey was like. Most of the people consider themselves German. It was a beautiful little mountain town, maybe 5,000 people up in the Dolomites. Good food, beautiful. Maybe I'll go back there when I'm a little older."

Late in the season, Bonino proved how essential his presence was by his absence.

An LBI (lower body injury) knocked him out from March 10 until April 21. The Ducks started that stretch 4-0-1, but then went 5-8-2, and Bruce Boudreau would quietly remind everyone what they were missing.

When Bonino returned, the Ducks beat Edmonton twice and locked up the Pacific Division title.

"I thought a lot about what I should do differently this year," Bonino said. "When I was on the fourth line and not getting many minutes, I was doing things too fast, getting rid of the puck too quickly, just dumping it instead of trying to make a play. That's uncharacteristic of the way I play. This year I thought I would play my game regardless of the minutes. If the coaches trust you, you'll get more of a chance."

His goal capped a turbulent victory in which the Ducks kept brushing doom. They were down, 2-1, and then lost Daniel Winnik on a five-minute major penalty. But they snuffed out that penalty, and then Ryan Getzlaf prompted a power play, and found himself with the puck in the high slot as Matt Beleskey screened Howard.

Boudreau inwardly channeled the thoughts of the whole building: "I said to myself, shoot the damn thing."

Getzlaf did, tying the game, giving Bonino a chance to represent his Neumarkt friends. They, too, stick to their day job.

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.